The Present
by canuseetheinvisible
Summary: It’s two days before the wedding, and Edward and Bella decide to spend a private afternoon in their meadow. This brings about the talk of the wedding. R&R! This is my favorite story by far… There will be 2 more chapters which will bring it all together.
1. Talk Of Flowers

Summary: Today is Edward's birthday, and he is spending the day with Bella in their meadow

**Summary: **It's two days before the wedding, and Edward and Bella decide to spend a private afternoon in their meadow. This brings about the talk of the wedding. R&R! This is my favorite story by far… There will be another, far more exciting chapter, which I promise will bring it all together. Bear with me please. 

**Written in BPOV**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does, as she does all associated characters. Not that I wouldn't mind owning Edward… Oh what fun! Hehe…

**The Present**

I grazed my eyes over his whole body, lying perfectly in the sun, and smiled to myself. I truly couldn't have asked for anyone more perfect.

His bronze hair was ruffled in the slight breeze, and his angelic face had a look of absolute contentment: his eyes were closed, and a soft smile played on his lips as though he could feel my stare. His head, cradled in the grass, slowly turned towards me, and his topaz eyes returned my gaze. He chuckled when he saw my expression.

"What are you thinking?" he murmured softly, turning to his side so he could rest on his elbow. "You look dazed," he chuckled again.

I stared at him a second before answering, trying to gather my jumbled thoughts. I spoke softly, the silence of the meadow intimidated me, and I didn't want to break it. "Well," I said, "I was remembering the first time you took me here." I gestured around the meadow with my hand. "You showed me all the finer points of being a vampire." I laughed shyly, not sure how he would react to that particular word. It was something we talked about often, yet never really said.

But he just nodded, his beautiful face serious as his eyes followed my hand. "I remember," he smiled crookedly, and I could feel my heart jump.

"But," he whispered, "There are some things I wished I had shown you sooner." His face was filled with slight remorse, but his eyes still held his humor. He smiled again, looking at my face.

I couldn't help the overwhelming curiosity that I felt. "Like what?" I asked, confused. I moved over to where he was sitting, and curled up against his side, my face still looking at his expectantly.

He smiled appreciatively down at me, and wrapped his stone arms around me, pressing his face into my hair. The sudden coolness was a nice contrast to the sun, which was beating down steadily.

"Well," He whispered, his lips trailing down my hair and onto my jaw line, "I wish I would have done this sooner." He cool lips found their way to my lips, and he kissed me gently, sighing as he felt me relax under him. I brought both hands up and wrapped my fingers in his hair, trying to keep his face locked to mine for just a second longer.

But my hands were no match for his iron strength, and he pulled away all too soon, his head playfully cocked to the side as he shook his head. "You're impossible," he sighed, leaning forward to softly kiss the top of my nose.

His hands then reached up and brought mine down to my lap, where he held them gently. Another smile danced across his lips.

"The wedding's only in two days," he teased, bringing my arms around his back. I snuggled my face closer to his chest.

"I know," I answered. I tried to keep all the worry and sadness out of my voice when I spoke, but a little still got through. My tone surprised him and he looked down, his eyebrows raised in confusion.

I immediately tried to make up for my words, and rushed to fix what I had said. "No!" I said quickly, "Not like that! It's just…I…" But I was at a lost for words, and stared at him, wrinkling my forehead, searching for the right thing to say.

He looked at me solemnly, before hugging me close to his chest. "I'm sorry." He whispered, and the sad note in his voice made me want to cry. "I know this isn't exactly the wedding you had in mind."

I feverishly shook my head into his chest. "No, it is." I whispered back. The firmness in my voice was evident even to me. "I'm marrying you. That's all I need." I just hoped my words could convince him.

I pressed my face into his shirt, trying to hide my expression. He would know I wasn't telling the truth when he saw my face. Not that I was lying, exactly, but the thought of walking down the aisle, with everyone's eyes on me, terrified me. And I was afraid of what that would translate into on my face.

Edward was quiet for a moment. "Bella," he spoke lowly, his finger lifting my chin up so my eyes met his. His golden eyes smoldered, turning a much darker shade. They seemed to bore into me. "I need you to answer something for me. Honestly." I nodded immediately, willing to do anything to bring his smile back. I looked back in earnest.

"Why are you marrying me?" He whispered. His tone was carefully smooth, with no hint of emotion.

I stared at him, surprised, and without thinking told him the first thing that came to my mind.

"To make you happy." I whispered back. As soon as I had spoken, I regretted what I had said. His eyes turned even darker ocher, and any remaining hint of humor in his eyes vanished. He nodded thoughtfully, and without thinking he hugged me closer to his body. I could feel every rise and fall of his breath now, and it made my heart thud even faster. I'm sure he could feel it beneath my skin.

He looked at me thoughtfully, and once more pressed his face into my hair. His cool breath tickled my skin as he traced patterns across my face. "Then love," he murmured in my ear, "What would your perfect wedding be?"

I stared at him uncertainly before answering. Surprisingly enough, I hadn't really given it much thought. I had just planned to go along with whatever Alice had planned.

"I don't exactly know," I admitted, my voice unsure. He didn't answer, so I tried to elaborate. I took a deep breath and continued.

"When I was little," I began, "I always wanted my wedding to be blue." I looked at his impassive face shyly before continuing. "I wanted a white satin dress, with my bouquet to be blue and white roses." I paused abruptly, wanting to see what his reaction would be. But his angelic face remained statue-like, and I started again, frustrated. "It would be simple," I closed my eyes, trying to bring back bits and pieces of the memory. "With barely any people." I sighed softly, laughing to myself. "But it changed. Sometimes my family and friends were there, and sometimes it was just you and me. I changed my mind quite a bit," I chuckled, trying to lighten the serious mood. "I remember thinking I would walk down the aisle, and for once I wouldn't care that everyone was watching me, because I wouldn't notice them." I hung my head. This was where I got a little embarrassed. "I wouldn't care because I would only be looking at you." I whispered.

I kept my eyes away from his face as I spoke. It was the first time I had mentioned the fact that I actually had wanted to have my wedding a certain way. I felt guilty, remembering everything Alice had done for me.

When I looked up, Edward's statue-like expression had melted into surprise, and I realized he didn't know I had given the wedding that much thought.

I stayed quiet, waiting for him to speak. But he remained silent, and I feared what he was thinking. His expression conveyed that he was somewhere completely different, and he remained still even when tiny raindrops began to fall.

I looked up in surprise. I didn't even notice that it had clouded over.

I then brought my worried eyes back to his, and cupped his face in my hands. This seemed to jolt him back to reality.

He glanced up, and then at the raindrops in my hair. He gave me a sad smile, but it had nowhere near the volume that his previous one had. My heart turned to lead.

"Come on," He said, picking me up gently and slinging me onto his back, "We should get going."

I just nodded, afraid to speak. What had I done?

But Edward remained silent the entire trip back to his house.

**A/N: **Sorry for lack of updates, but I had a hectic week. I graduated! Yeah me! So there were rehearsals, dinners, and all that jazz. You wouldn't believe how hard standing and sitting is! Lol! Anyway, I'll put the ending chapter up tomorrow and will have completed ATOHOM by Sunday. Cause I want to try another lemon… they're so much fun to write! Actually, now that I think of it, one might fit in well in this one… Ok. So I lied. There may be a third chapter. Depends how fast I can type! Lol.


	2. The Surprise

**Summary: **It's two days before the wedding, and Edward and Bella decide to spend a private afternoon in their meadow. This brings about the talk of the wedding. R&R! This is my favorite story by far… Remember to review! I want at least thirty before you all get the next chapter! 

**Written in BPOV**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does, as she does all associated characters. Not that I wouldn't mind owning Edward… Oh what fun! Hehe…

**The Present**

When we finally got back to his house a very angry Alice met us on the front steps. Her usually energetic demeanor was stiff and rigid, and she looked furious- her lips were bared in a slight snarl.

"How could you, Edward!?" She said, shaking her head, "We went over this! Bella agreed! She even said she wanted…"

But Edward shook his head. "Enough, Alice," he said in the same, soft tone he had been using with me. Except in comparison to Alice's cold words it was strangely chilling.

She glared at him for another moment before the fury on her face softened. Her eyes were still hard and black, but she at least didn't look as angry. "You're right," she said with a resigned sigh as she looked me over. "I'll help."

"Thank you, Alice," Edward breathed what seemed to be a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Alice then directed her attention to me, and chuckled, seeming amused. "Actually, I think I do." She nodded in my direction, and cocked her head to the side. I had enough experience from being around Edward's family to know she was asking him a question.

I stared curiously at her, trying to decipher what she could possibly be asking. And what had we 'gone over'? What on earth was she talking about?

Edward frowned, and responded slowly. "No, and I don't intend to." He said, looking down at the tiny vampire in front of him. Alice nodded slowly before looking at me, a smile dancing across her face.

"C'mon, Bella," she said, grabbing onto my hand and tugging me into the house, "We have work to do." She danced lithely up the porch stairs, her feet never seeming to touch the steps.

I stared back at Edward, a whimper rising in my throat. Where was he going?

Edward took in my worried expression, and walked over to wrap his arms around me. He pressed my small body against his stone one, and kissed me softly on the lips. He then smiled crookedly, tilting his forehead down and forward until it touched mine. His sweet breath intoxicated me, and made it hard to breathe.

"I'll be back in an hour, okay?" His nose brushed against mine, and all I could do was nod. "Now, you have fun with Alice," He told me. I watched him as he pulled away, a lump rising in my throat. But a second later he was gone, and I was left standing alone on the steps with a very impatient Alice.

"Come on!" she urged, dragging me through the front door and towards the stairs. I stumbled along behind her; trying to keep up her rapid pace as she half carried me up the steps.

To my horror she just pulled me into her bathroom, and sat me down by the counter. I swallowed hard as I took in the beauty products that lined the countertop, looking like an entire army that had co-conspired against me. I stared at Alice, anger rising to flush my cheeks. As she closed the door and turned to face me, an amused smile formed on her lips.

"Relax, Bella," she said, laughing. Her silvery voice echoed throughout the large bathroom. "I'm not playing dress up tonight." But she glanced wistfully at her beauty products, looking like she would have liked nothing more than to try them out on me. I tried to cough discreetly to get her attention back to the fact that I would _not_ be her guinea pig tonight. Her head snapped back to my face as her smile dimmed slightly. "Right," she muttered.

She then proceeded to grab my hand and tow me towards her bedroom, oblivious to the fact that I had enough trouble tripping on my own- I didn't need her help.

"What's going on?" I pleaded, feeling desperately worried. Edward was still gone, and I didn't trust Alice's restraint against the beauty supplies one room over.

But Alice just shook her head, talking quietly to herself in a tone too low for my hearing.

"Alice," I moaned, still stumbling along behind her, "Tell me!" I demanded.

But she stopped; we had reached her bedroom. She set me down on the bed and began pacing in front of me, back and forth across the room, oblivious to my pleas.

"White or blue?" she muttered, frowning.

"Alice!" I yelled. "Tell me!"

She looked up and sighed, and when she spoke she seemed to carefully choose her words. "Edward is taking you out tonight," she began slowly. But I cut her off, grimacing.

"Why are you so mad?" I persisted, trying to read her obsidian eyes. They were dark from thirst, and her expression remained placate.

"Because," she began, speaking thoughtfully, "While I don't exactly appreciate what he is… erm, _doing_, I do understand why he did it." She sighed, and crossed her tiny arms over her chest. "And," she admitted, a little grudgingly, "He is quite the romantic." She rolled her eyes before turning back to her closet, still trying to decide whether I should wear white or blue.

I frowned, annoyed, but decided to drop it. Trying to get answers out of Alice was like trying to get Edward and Jake to go to the boundary line and give each other a giant hug. It just wasn't going to happen.

I watched her pace back and forth, growing dizzy. "How about white?" I suggested. Her pacing was making me crazy. She stopped and took in my expression, her angelic face pouting slightly.

"It would be more appropriate, I suppose," she murmured before venturing into her closet. I jumped off the bed and peeked in behind her, feeling intimidated by the enormous room.

Alice strode purposely over to a rack, quickly shifting through clothes. Finally she stopped and held up a pretty white evening dress, and a wide smile took over her face. It was long and looked like it would flow out behind me. She squealed. "You're going to love this!" She promised.

"Come on, Alice!" This isn't funny!" I whined. The blindfold she had fitted over my head was giving me a headache, and everything was black. It was making my head pound.

But Alice just giggled, and I could hear the engine thrum even louder beneath her foot.

After getting me dressed she had insisted on blindfolding me, not wanting to ruin Edward's surprise. She had then guided me towards her Porsche, and, after catching me twice, had helped me into the backseat, where I currently sat fuming. But Alice just thought my anger was amusing, chuckling every now and then as she glanced back at my scowl.

"Calm down, Bella," she said, still laughing. "We're here."

I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly brought my hand up to take off the stupid blindfold, my hands undoing the complicated knot that Alice had created on the back of my head.

But her cool hands caught me midway, and just tied the knot tighter. I groaned. "Not yet," she warned, her high-pitched voice filled with amusement. I could imagine her smiling at me. She put both her hands on my shoulders and directed me forward. I, of course, tripped, and her stone arms wrapped around my torso in an attempt to keep me upright. I could only imagine how comical we must have looked.

"Okay, Bella." She whispered in my ear. I could feel her standing on her tiptoes to reach my head.

"I'm going to leave now. In ten seconds I want you to take off the blindfold, and then walk through the doors right in front of you. Can you do that for me?" he usually loud voice was quiet, and it seemed to echo as though we were in a giant cavern.

I nodded, worry lines creasing on my face. What in the world had Edward planned?

She gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and I felt a cool draft from the door behind us moments later. I was alone.

I counted to ten slowly in my head, and reached up to take off the blindfold. This time the knot slipped out easily in my hands, and I snorted. That figured.

I blinked rapidly as the light hit my eyes, and tried to shield it with my hands. The light was coming from low-lit sconces that surrounded the giant stone room, and in front of me two large, wrought iron doors stood imposingly. I balked before stepping forward to try to open them.

The doors were heavy and I had to lean my entire body into the frame in order to get them to move. I stepped into the next room without glancing around, instead turning to close the doors, which clanged shut with a resounding boom. I gulped before turning around to see what faced me.

When I did turn around, I gasped in surprise, bringing my hands up to cover my mouth.

I was standing in a very tall, cathedral church, with tall gothic windows that brimmed the third story. Beautiful white roses adorned each windowsill, as they did each pew. White ribbons were hung from each rose, connecting them, and light blue rose petals were sprinkled down the aisle all the way towards the altar where many more flowers stood. An organ played softly in the background, and the haunting music filled the dimly lit air, creating a beautiful and eerie sounds. It was perfect.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A low, velvety voice spoke directly in my ear. I whirled around and found myself face to face with a chuckling Edward.

He was smiling, my favorite crooked smile on his face. His perfect bronze hair was freshly combed, and he was dressed in a black suit, which contrasted amazingly with his ivory skin. He was incomparable to even Adonis; he could have put all Greek Gods to shame.

He slowly brought his fingers down to run the length of my jaw line; his fingers leaving a burning trail. His eyes smoldered a deep ocher as they bore into mine, and he brought his lips down to kiss me.

"Was this what you wanted your wedding to be like?" He whispered as I glanced around the church in awe. His stone arms pulled me close to his chest, and his lips playfully tickled my ear.

I nodded, feeling my eyes well up with tears. This was all so perfect…

But Edward just stared worriedly as he saw my eyes start to shine with tears. "Please don't cry," He pleaded softly, kissing each tear as it fell. "I thought this was what you wanted…" His honey voice trailed off, and he kept staring at me, wiping away my tears.

I shook my head and tried to give him a small laugh, although it came out as more of a hiccup. "No," I said, smiling, "It's just all so perfect…" But I couldn't think of anything more to say. Perfect just seemed to sum it up the best.

But Edward understood and nodded, not needing a further explanation. Instead he kissed me, but with far more passion than before. I felt myself go limp in his arms, letting him support all my weight as I greedily wrapped my fingers in his hair and kissed him back, my heart jagged. He opened his mouth and his tongue intertwined with mine, tracing my bottom lip. This kiss lasted longer than his other ones, but it still seemed like he broke away too soon.

He sighed, and looked at me sadly. "Soon, love," he whispered, "Soon." I nodded, and couldn't help but feeling a little disappointed. The wedding was still two days away, and the honeymoon started the day after that.

Edward, reading my face, took in my upset look. He hugged me close again, and then gestured around the church. "It will be less than an hour, I promise." He whispered, the slight hint of a smile dancing across his angelic lips as he waited for my reaction.

But all I could do was stare back, confused. "We're getting married _now_?" I whispered back, in shock.

He laughed, and kissed the tip of my nose. "Yes, you silly, girl! Why else would we be here?" he shook his head, bemused by my expression.

I stared back, still in shock. Reality hadn't set in yet. "Bu…but," I stammered, "What about Alice's wedding?"

Edward just shrugged, and his perfect face seemed unconcerned. "She said it herself that she wasn't mad," he whispered back. His hand cupped the side of my face. "She knows how important it is to me that you're happy." His finger reached out to lift up my chin, and his eyes stared straight into mine. "This will just be _our_ wedding, the one that we remember. Everyone else will just see Thursday's." He chuckled softly to himself before continuing, "We'll just be renewing our vows."

"Okay," I whispered back, my eyes wide with excitement and nerves. I could actually feel my heart beat in my chest as Edward handed me a bouquet of blue and white flowers before heading back towards the altar to where the minister stood. He walked deliberately slowly, making sure not to step on any rose petals. I took in a shaky breath as he turned to face me at the front, staring at me with an expression that held more love than I could ever put into words.

I closed my eyes tight as the organ began playing the wedding march, and then opened them again. But everything was still there: the flowers, the decorations, everything. I could see Edward smile crookedly again at me from the front of the aisle. I took another shaky breath before taking my first step down the aisle towards him.

As I walked I didn't think about falling. I didn't think about the fact that I would soon be a bride, or even the fact that the beautiful old church was empty of my family. Because, truthfully, I wouldn't have even known or cared if it was packed full with people. Right now, the only person in the world that I even noticed was Edward.

**A/N:** Oh. My. God. This is by far my favorite story. Ever. I've wanted to write it for a while, but have been so busy that I never really got a chance. I hope you all like it! Remember, review if you love me! There will be one or two more chapters, and I will finish it tomorrow.


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